At last.
Before night fell.
The two of them emerged from the primeval forest and arrived at a little village that rarely saw visitors.
It was tiny and very backward... one of the most remote corners of the Asura Kingdom.
As far as the eye could see.
It was poor...
Compared to Buena Village, with its golden fields of wheat stretching everywhere, the conditions here were worse by far.
Large stretches of crops looked as though they had been destroyed, seemingly by an attack from a horde of monsters. Quite a few villagers had been injured as well.
At the village entrance.
Luo Ge saw a mage dressed in the robes of a Millis believer treating the villagers free of charge, while they waited in line for their turns.
Here... Luo Ge seemed to glimpse the truest face of this world's lowest class, the reality of people's circumstances.
Not everyone could enjoy fine clothes and lavish meals, receive a good education at home from childhood like Luo Ge and Rudeus, and never have to worry about food.
Sometimes, birth determined everything.
Everyone's fate had already been decided.
"Finally, we're here!"
They arrived at Karen's home.
The place could practically be described as four bare walls. The only things worth much were the monster pelts hanging out to dry in the yard.
In the yard, a little blond girl was crouching on the ground, sharpening arrowheads with a whetstone.
"Sara."
Karen smiled.
"Dad!"
Seeing that her father had returned.
The little blond girl excitedly came over to greet him, and father and daughter hugged each other tightly.
"Luo Ge... this is my daughter, Sara. Isn't she cute?" Karen volunteered the introduction.
"Who are you?"
Sara now looked puzzled as well.
"Hello, my name is Rog Greyrat. Nice to meet you." Luo Ge stepped forward with a smile.
"Huh? Greyrat?"
Sara's expression immediately fell.
Sara had originally been somewhat curious about Luo Ge.
But upon hearing his noble surname, her attitude instantly did a complete about-face, and her face filled with disgust.
She did not spare Luo Ge another glance.
Barely acknowledging him, she gave a huff, turned, and walked away.
"So... someone dislikes me?"
Luo Ge rubbed his chin.
"I'm very sorry. My daughter, Sara-I've spoiled her ever since she was little. Honestly... she has no manners at all," Karen said, scratching his head awkwardly.
"No harm done. It's nothing..."
Luo Ge waved a hand.
After all, Asura's nobles were an infamous bunch, especially the Greyrats. In this country... even a scumbag like Paul counted as someone with a relatively normal reputation.
It was perfectly normal for the locals to hate these nobles so much.
"Luo Ge, from the look of you, you're probably not one of our local nobles, are you?" Karen invited Luo Ge into the house and warmly prepared food and water for him.
"Mm... that's right."
"My hometown is Roa, in the neighboring Fittoa Territory," Luo Ge answered indistinctly between mouthfuls.
Hearing that this child came from the City of Roa in the Fittoa Territory shocked Karen even more.
The Fittoa Territory.
Although it was also part of the Asura Kingdom, it was a considerable distance away.
He could hardly imagine how a minor like this... a child who did not look capable of much in a fight.
Could have crossed mountains and rivers to reach somewhere so far away, and even turned up in the eastern forest near the Red Dragon Mountains.
Especially since monsters had frequently been running rampant these past few years, and the forest was teeming with monsters that attacked nearby villages.
The fact that a child like Luo Ge, lost alone in the forest, had not been eaten by the monsters there was a miracle in itself.
Karen marveled inwardly, instinctively feeling that this child had been far too lucky.
But he did not know.
Luo Ge had painstakingly climbed all the way down from the Dragon God Hole in the Red Dragon Mountains, one of the world's three great labyrinths...
Had he known the truth, his jaw would probably have dropped even further.
After all, whether a noble child like Luo Ge could even survive outside alone was questionable, let alone cross the entire Red Dragon Mountains.
Given how dangerous the Red Dragon Mountains were...
Never mind children-even adults, and even some seasoned adventurers with plenty of experience, did not dare set foot there lightly.
"Roa in the Fittoa Territory? A few years ago, I went there a few times with merchants transporting goods."
"It's such a long journey... if you're planning to go home next, well... can you manage that on your own?"
"Do you need me to ask a passing caravan to give you a ride?"
"Thank you for the offer, but for certain reasons, I can't go home just yet."
"I see. Did you run away from home because you had a falling-out with the adults in your family?"
"Run away from home... what a strange way to put it. Why would you say that?"
"Ah, well, something similar happened here once. Our current lord, Pylemon Notos Greyrat, is a cowardly fellow."
"They say the family's eldest son and heir ran away from home, which let that fellow luck into becoming lord."
"Everyone in our territory really hates him."
"..."
The corner of Luo Ge's mouth twitched. He silently wondered about this person who had run away from home.
Could he be talking about Paul?
Paul had mentioned something similar before, after all. His hometown seemed to be in the Milbots Territory.
He did not let his thoughts wander any further.
Luo Ge shook his head. "No, you've misunderstood. I didn't leave home because I had a fight with my family. I had my parents' permission."
"That's why I'm planning to go to the Sword Sanctum in the northern part of the Central Continent."
"Huh? Alone?!"
Hearing this, both Karen and Sara, who was eavesdropping a short distance away, froze for a moment.
Karen exclaimed in surprise, "The Sword Sanctum? Isn't that at the very northwestern corner of the Central Continent? You're going alone?"
"Yes, just me."
"Oh! Right, I did have a guard before, but for certain reasons, she and I got separated."
"You mean you're planning to go to the Sword Sanctum alone? Somewhere that far away, all by yourself?"
"Is there a problem?"
"Uh, no. I just think it's a little too risky." Karen was utterly astonished by Luo Ge's plan.
"By the way."
"About mistaking you for a monster in the forest earlier and nearly shooting you, I'd still like to apologize."
"Mm... haven't I already forgiven you? You didn't do it on purpose, after all, and you sincerely apologized on the way here, didn't you?"
"Why are you so nervous? Are you worried about something?"
"To tell you the truth... in the Asura Kingdom, if a commoner attacks a noble, it's a serious crime whether it was intentional or not. If it's discovered, they'll be sentenced to death, and it can even implicate their family."
"So that's how it is."
"Then, Uncle Karen, I'll keep this strictly confidential. I won't tell a third person in this world about it. I'll take it to my grave."
"Really... thank you. A noble as understanding as you is very rare."
"Stay here tonight. It's humble, but I hope you won't mind."
Hearing his warm invitation.
Luo Ge narrowed his eyes slightly. "Well, is that really all right? I won't be disturbing your family, will I?"
"Of course it's fine, as long as you don't mind the place. We have plenty of empty rooms. Once we tidy one up, having one more person stay shouldn't be a problem."
"Then thank you for your hospitality. I'll gladly accept."
Luo Ge chatted happily with him.
At that point, Sara finally could not hold back any longer. She stepped out from the side, unable to understand this at all.